


Paradise

by dearestones (Devin_Trinidad)



Category: Akudama Drive (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Paradise, Tumblr request, alternate universe where Courier and Swindler survived with the kids, as requested by tumblr, swindler centric, swindler introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29941560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devin_Trinidad/pseuds/dearestones
Summary: When she realized that Courier had no desire to go back to Kansai, Swindler was somewhat thrilled and relieved. He was older than her, probably had more experience scouting ahead and living life from one day to the next. As they rode his motorcycle into the barren wasteland that Hacker had left them as a final gift, Swindler had thought that most of their troubles were over.She was a fool.
Relationships: Courier & Ordinary | Swindler (Akudama Drive), Ordinary | Swindler (Akudama Drive) & Experiment 2502 | Brother (Akudama Drive), Ordinary | Swindler (Akudama Drive) & Experiment 5557 | Sister (Akudama Drive)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous Request: Akudama Drive. While scavenging, Courier discovers a clearing/oasis among the barren landscape. He tells Swindler and she plans an impromptu outing.

Would you trade your life for five hundred yen?

When Swindler had first escaped Kansai with Courier and their two young charges, she didn’t know how to handle it. She was still young, wet behind the ears and not the adult that she knew the children needed. However, she knew that they looked up to her, needed her. If she couldn’t step up to take the place as someone they could trust, then why even bother helping them? It had been a while since she had lived with other people, but the past few events with the other Akudama had more than acclimated her back into the swing of things. 

When she realized that Courier had no desire to go back to Kansai, Swindler was somewhat thrilled and relieved. He was older than her, probably had more experience scouting ahead and living life from one day to the next. As they rode his motorcycle into the barren wasteland that Hacker had left them as a final gift, Swindler had thought that most of their troubles were over. 

She was a fool.

Granted, at that point, she wanted the one hint of a reward after she spent most of her energy trying to evade Cutthroat and saving the children from becoming integrated into that weird simulation meant for Kanto. After such stress, she thought that she could rest easy. 

It was Courier who brought her down to earth.

As the children cuddled against each other in a dilapidated house way outside the boundaries of Kansai, Courier had turned to Kansai. His face was always serious, but this time, he looked all the more severe and stern. It took everything in Swindler not to turn tail and run. Honestly, she remembered their second encounter—when she had been trying to save a black cat from dying and when he happened to point a gun at her. 

Come to think of it, she thought, he never quite apologized for it.

“I’ll scout ahead, see if there’s more to this place than this.” He waved his prosthetic around the landscape, his unsaid words painfully clear. Hacker must have been wrong. There was no way that he would have sent them on this quest to find only desolate land and the empty shells of what used to be some sort of civilization. 

“I… You’ll be back, right?” Swindler’s voice cracked. She clenched her hands against the hem of her light blue jacket, but she couldn’t help but feel fear rear its ugly head. Trusting Courier back in Kansai was one thing: she still had the power and the money to convince him to help her. Here, out in the middle of nowhere, all bets were off. There was no reason to think that Courier wouldn’t run off without them. No telling that he wouldn’t go back to Kansai and lay low for a while, leaving behind three of his companions to survive in unwelcoming conditions. 

In the pale moonlight, Swindler could barely make out Courier’s features. A part of her hoped that he was looking at her like he would his equals. She didn’t want to be seen as a child like their charges. She may have been new to being inducted as an Akudama, but she could hold her own and she was far from the naive civilian she once was.

She straightened up and leveled Courier with a confident look.

“No, you better come back.”

Courier’s face twitched before he left.

Swindler hoped that it was a smile.

Hours had passed since then and Swindler paced around their makeshift camp.

Had she chosen wrong? 

Did she trust in the wrong person?

As her tumultuous thoughts continued to storm inside of her head, the children began to stir from their spots at camp. At first, both children had been happy to see Swindler again. However, once they had seen the harried expression on her face and how her hands continued to wring in worry, they, too, began to worry as well.

It wasn’t until the sun’s rays signalled that it was close to a few hours after dawn that Courier had returned. At that point, Swindler had gone from anxious to overjoyed within a millisecond of seeing him once again. That joy increased tenfold when Courier had said something that would forever give her good dreams.

“Hacker was onto something,” Courier muttered as he gently shoved Swindler away from attacking his waist. “There’s a place a couple hours west. Lots of trees, covering, and plenty of sources of water and food.” At her questioning gaze, he continued, “No signs of civilization, but I suppose that would be for the best.”

And so, all four of them piled onto Courier’s motorcycle. Both children were sitting in between the two adults, both of whom showing differing levels of excitement. 

For Swindler, she knew that it was going to be a start of a new life for her and the children. It was still somewhat surreal, she thought as she watched desolate wasteland pass them by. Barely a week ago, she had been an average employee at the Seal Centre. A day ago, she had nearly died from an Akudama. Now…

Now, she was a free woman on her way to what she hoped was paradise. 

And all it took was five hundred yen. 


End file.
